One of the families who fell victim to a scam where fraudulent veterinary paperwork was supplied to a Hayes -based puppy farming gang have told how their pet became ill less than a day after they bought him.

The Reed family, from West Sussex, spotted cavapoo Max being advertised online in November 2015.

They went to meet Max and then paid £470 in cash before taking him home.

Owner Rebecca Reed said: "The breeder couldn't find the vaccination paperwork so said he'd sent it on.

"We were so excited to have him home, but just 17 hours after he arrived it all went wrong."

Doherty, 49, of Wood Lane, Iver Heath, ran MyVet24/7 practices in Uxbridge and Hillingdon. Between March 2011 and May 2017, the RSPCA said 4,689 puppies were taken to MyVet 24/7 by the gang.

After a four-week trial, Doherty was found guilty of conspiring to commit fraud by making false representations to members of the public for the purpose of selling puppies.

Other people implicated in the RSPCA investigation:

Simon O'Donnell, 30, of Bradenham Road, Hayes, will be sentenced after admitting one offence of conspiracy to commit fraud, three animal welfare offences and one offence of running a pet shop without a licence;

Margaret McDonagh, 27, of Bradenham Road, Hayes, will be sentenced having admitted three fraud offences;

Edward Stokes, 36, of Rosedale Avenue, Hayes, and later of Tenaplas Drive, Upper Basildon in Berkshire, will be sentenced having admitted one conspiracy to commit fraud offence and one animal welfare offence;

Thomas Stokes, 25, of Coldharbour Lane, Hayes, will be sentenced having pleaded guilty to one conspiracy to commit fraud offence and one animal welfare offence;

Thomas O’Donnell, 29, of Bedwell Gardens, Hayes, will be sentenced having previously admitted four offences of fraud and three animal welfare offences;

Mary Teresa Stokes, 34, of Rosedale Avenue, Hayes, was sentenced at a previous hearing at Isleworth Crown Court on September 7 2017 having pleaded guilty to one offence of failing to meet the needs of dogs. She was given a 12-month conditional discharge, disqualified from keeping dogs for five years and ordered to pay £250 in costs.

A further two women were given adult written cautions and criminal behaviour orders.

The falsified and fraudulent health cards he issued disguised the fact that the puppies were farmed, imported or of unknown origin, instead indicating the puppy was the offspring of a family pet, home-bred and socialised within a local residential family environment.

Doherty and the puppy farmers will appear at Isleworth Crown Court in May to face sentencing.

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